Senior Director, EAB Research (Academic Innovation)

Company: EAB (Education Advisory Board)
Location: Washington
Posted on: April 1, 2025

Job Description:

Make a difference in a sector that matters to us allEAB is a special place to work. You'll find motivated employees, growth opportunities, and a deep commitment to our partners. We pride ourselves on hiring the best people-not just for the job, but for the firm and the future of education.If you are an EAB employee, please use your work email address to sign up or apply.Senior Director, EAB Research (Academic Innovation)Location: Washington, D.C.Number: 602229Job Category: Professional ServicesJob Department: ResearchJob Family: Research Development & Advisory ServicesJob Type: Full TimeLevel: DirectorAt EAB, our mission is to make education smarter and our communities stronger. We work with more than 2,800 institutions to drive transformative change through data-driven insights and best-in-class capabilities. From kindergarten to college to career, EAB partners with leaders and practitioners to accelerate progress and drive results across enrollment, student success, institutional strategy, data analytics, and advancement.Senior Director, EAB Research (Academic Innovation)EAB's research programs offer strategic guidance at scale: we help executives make progress on their most pressing financial and mission-consequential issues. EAB research helps clients educate stakeholders on campus, make research-informed decisions, and speed the implementation of recommended practices. We work with presidents, provosts, CBOs, and senior-most executives on issues related to enrollment, student success and retention, and university operations.As a Senior Director, you will oversee research studies for a specific terrain: Academic Innovation. You will manage a team of researchers to set and execute a compelling research, event, and service agenda for university provosts and deans. You will craft practical deliverables (e.g., self-audits, toolkits, executive briefings) and experiences (e.g., executive presentations, interactive workshops) that provide actionable advice and help partners translate that research into clear decisions and results on their campuses.This person will work closely with Research leadership and other terrain teams, including contributing research and insights to cross-silo projects like EAB's annual State of the Sector presentation. You will also work with other departments in EAB, including Research Commercial, Strategy, and Delivery teams. A successful candidate will have a demonstrated interest in academic affairs and related education issues as well as product strategy. This person will have the ability to thrive in a fast-paced commercial environment.This role is based in Washington D.C. or open to exceptional candidates in Richmond, VA or who would be based remote within the continental United States. This position requires occasional travel (15-30%) to client campuses.Primary Responsibilities:

• Research Leadership: You are the intellectual leader of research initiatives in the academic innovation terrain. You must ensure that EAB has a clear point of view on evergreen and emerging challenges, provide practical advice and implementation support to help provosts and deans - as well as broader university cabinets, including the CBO and president - make critical decisions in these areas.
• Terrain Expertise: Develop and maintain terrain mastery over primary issue areas for academic innovation, which may include academic program launch and review, academic efficiency and resource allocation, faculty roles and affairs, research enterprise growth, and graduate and doctoral education.
• Product Strategy: Collaborate with Research leadership to set and execute 6- and 12- month terrain roadmaps, identifying opportunities to innovate and grow the product through new services and value drivers for clients.
• Team and Talent Management: Manage research project teams (2-4 staff), providing tailored coaching to develop individual staff and ensuring that terrain projects are completed on time and consistent with EAB's quality standards.Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree, with an excellent academic record
• 8-10+ years of post-Bachelor's work experience
• In-depth understanding of education industry and the specific role that provosts and deans play in strategy, decision making, and operations
• Superior verbal, written, facilitation, and presentation skills
• Excellent relationship building and collaboration skills
• Experience with at least three of the following:
• Academic program strategy or administration
• Corporate partnerships or executive education
• Management or strategy consulting
• Product strategy, market positioning, or brand management
• People/team management
• Long-term or primary and secondary researchIdeal Qualifications:
  • Advanced degree
  • Background in quantitative data analyses, especially using national data sources like IPEDS
  • Experience working with client executives, either at a college or university, or as a consultant or advisor
  • Demonstrated ability to distill market and terrain insights
  • Experience producing written content for an executive-level audience
  • Commitment to valuing diversity and contributing to an equitable working environmentCompensation:The anticipated starting salary range for this role is $100,000 - $135,000 per year. Actual salary varies due to factors that may include relevant experience, skills, and location.Consistent with our belief that our employees are our most valuable resource, EAB offers a competitive and inclusive benefits package. Our benefits currently include:
    • Medical, dental, and vision insurance plans; dependents and domestic partners eligible
    • 20+ days of PTO annually, in addition to paid firm and floating holidays
    • 401(k) retirement savings plan with annual discretionary company matching contribution
    • Employee assistance program with counseling services and resources available to all employees
    • Wellness programs including gym discounts and incentives to promote healthy living
    • Paid parental leave with phase back to work program for birthing and non-birthing parentsThis opening is not eligible for visa sponsorship at this time; EAB will thus consider candidates who possess U.S. work authorization.At EAB, we believe that to fulfill our mission to "make education smarter and our communities stronger" we need team members who bring a diversity of perspectives to the table and are committed to fostering a workplace where each team member is valued, respected and heard.To that end, EAB is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and we make employment decisions on the basis of qualifications, merit and business need.
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Keywords: EAB (Education Advisory Board), Washington DC , Senior Director, EAB Research (Academic Innovation), Executive , Washington, DC